Moody’s cuts Telecom Italia’s credit rating by one notch to ‘B1’

(Reuters) – Ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Telecom Italia’s credit rating by one notch to ‘B1’ on Thursday, citing expectations its leverage will remain high and free cash flow will stay negative over the next two to three years.

Telecom Italia’s shares fell over 6% on Thursday, hitting an all-time low as the Italian government’s collapse is likely to hamper plans for the creation of a single network.

Italy’s biggest telecoms company could cut more than 9,000 jobs by 2030 and is ready to offload its fixed network business to reshape the debt-laden former telecoms monopoly.

Moody’s retained a ‘negative’ outlook for the company and its entities. (https://bit.ly/3BoSFnd)

“The macroeconomic environment has deteriorated since we downgraded [Telecom Italia’s] rating to Ba3 in March, reducing the visibility on Telecom Italia’s operating performance and its expected deleveraging path”, Moody’s said.

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru)